JPS6031974A - Ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To securely prevent an ink container from being damaged, by an ink cartridge construction wherein a flexible bag form ink container is contained in a casing the inside wall of which has a curved surface shape substantially the same as the outside shape of the ink container. CONSTITUTION:The ink container 1 is clamped between a pair of stiff plastic casings, namely, an upper casing 12 and a lower casing 13 abutting against each other. The upper and lower casings 12, 13 are integrally provided with ink container supporting walls 14, 15 having curved surface shapes substantially the same as the outer shape of the ink container 1. A blind rubber stopper 7 for the ink container 1 is also fixedly clamped between the upper and lower casings 12, 13, which are fixed to each other by fastening by screws or adhering by an adhesive. Ribs 16 are integrally provided on the upper surface of the upper casing 12 in four directions to enhance the strength of the supporting wall 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field) The present invention relates to an ink cartridge used in a recording device such as an inkjet printer.

(Prior art) An electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element is used as a pressurizing means.
A pressure pulse control type inkjet printer is known in which a pulse voltage is applied to the inkjet printer to eject ink to record dots. This method is also called a negative pressure type, and it is a method in which the ink jet nozzle is installed at a position higher than the ink level in the ink container, and a negative pressure corresponding to this water level difference is applied to the ink surface between the orifices of the nozzle. and give
The name comes from the fact that ink is continuously supplied to the nozzle using capillary action. In this type of inkjet printer, the ink supply power is small, so if even the slightest bubble is generated in the ink, there is a risk that the ink will not be ejected.

Therefore, the ink containers shown in FIGS. 1(5) and 1(B) are used. This is shown, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 54-151053 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. WS56-44663. The flexible flat bag-shaped ink container 1 is formed by folding and bending a multilayer laminate film and sealing it with an adhesive at the joint. Reference numeral 2 denotes an ink outlet tube that draws out the ink inside. The electrolyte film of the ink container 1 consists of three layers, each layer having its own function. That is, the outer layer 3 is made of a polymeric film such as nylon and has the function of maintaining the mechanical strength of one bag of sand, and prevents the papermaking ink from leaking to the outside due to dropping, vibration, etc. The intermediate layer 4 is an aluminum thin film layer, which completely blocks the internal ink from the outside air to prevent the constituent components of the ink from evaporating, and also blocks external ultraviolet rays and light to prevent its deterioration. The inner layer 5 is made of a polymeric film such as polyethylene to eliminate the risk of deteriorating the 91 ink and also to prevent the nylon layer and aluminum layer from being deteriorated by the ink. In addition to the above three layers, a welding polymer layer and an adhesive layer for welding each other are provided.

For ease of handling, the ink container 1 is housed in a case 6 as shown in FIG. 2, and is made into a cartridge. The tip of the ink lead-out tip 2 is sealed by a blind rubber stopper 7 fixed to the case 6, and is connected to a connecting needle on the printer side through the rubber stopper 7 to supply ink to the nozzle. 8
is an opening provided in the case. Here, ink container 1
If it is simply housed in the case 6, it will be easily damaged by shocks such as dropping, and there is a risk of ink leakage.

For example, the impact caused by a fall can reach 20 G or more, and when the ink container contains 20 to 3 Qcc of ink, an internal load of 6 to 9 or more is applied to the ink container, albeit momentarily. For this purpose, ink container 1
firmly adhere to the inner wall of the case 6 with double-sided adhesive tape 9,
Also, cushioning materials 10 are provided at various locations. However, these were not necessarily effective, and the number of parts was large, resulting in a cost of 7.

(Objective) An object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge which has a simple structure, can reliably prevent damage to the ink container, and is therefore less likely to cause ink leakage.

(Embodiment) FIG. 3 shows an ink cartridge 11 which is an embodiment of the present invention.
Components K that are the same as those in FIG. 1.2 are given the same reference numerals, and their explanation will be omitted. The ink container 1 includes a pair of rigid plastic upper cases 12 that abut each other.
and is held between the lower case 13. Ink container support walls 14 and 15 having curved surfaces approximately equal to the outer shape of the ink container 1 are integrally formed on the upper case 12, the lower case, and X15, respectively. The blind rubber stopper 7 of the ink container 1 is also
The upper case 12 and the lower case 16 are clamped and fixed, and the upper case 12 and the lower case 15 are fixed with screws or the like, or are fixed with an adhesive.

FIG. 4 shows the upper surface of the case 12, and as shown in the figure, lips 16 are integrally formed on all four sides and the bed supporting wall 140 is shown.
Improves strength. Although not shown in the figure,
This lip is also formed on the lower case 13.

In this way, in the ink cartridge 11 of this embodiment, the periphery of the ink container 1 is arranged such that the upper case 12 degrees and the lower case 1
3, the vibrations of the ink container 1 are effectively absorbed, increasing the impact resistance of the ink container, thereby effectively preventing damage to the ink container.

Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and for example, the upper case and the lower case may be formed as one unit. Further, the present invention can be applied to various recording devices such as blocks and recorders other than inkjet printers.

(Effects) As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an inexpensive and highly safe ink cartridge that does not leak ink while having an extremely simple configuration.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 and 2 show a conventional bag-shaped ink container - a perspective view and a sectional view, respectively, Figure 2 is a sectional view of a conventional ink cartridge, and Figure 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the upper case. 1... Bag-shaped ink container 11 0... Ink cartridge

Claims (1)

[Claims] An ink cartridge comprising a flexible bag-shaped ink container housed in a case, characterized in that the inner wall of the case has a curved surface approximately equal to the outer shape of the ink container.